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British Transport Police (BTP) said "tackling all forms of unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport is a priority" for the force.

However, according to Rape Crisis, the figures "only scratch the surface of the scale of sexual offences" as less than 15% of those who experience sexual violence choose to report it.

Across 2014 to 2016, BTP received 1,604 reports of sexual assault on London's Tube lines, two of which were reports of rape.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by Get West London shows that seven out of 11 Tube lines saw a rise in reports over the three years.

You can see a breakdown of the number of reported sex assaults for each London Underground line over the three-year period below.

Central Line

BTP received 441 reports of sexual assault.

74 of the cases resulted in a charge being brought.

Victoria Line

BTP received 254 reports of sexual assault.

27 of the cases resulted in a charge being brought.

Jubilee Line

BTP received 209 reports of sexual assault.

19 of the cases resulted in a charge being brought.

Northern Line

BTP received 203 reports of sexual assault.

11 of the cases resulted in a charge being brought.

Two of of the incidents were reports of rape.

According to BTP, no suspect in the 2015 reported rape was identified despite a complete investigation, whereas a suspect was identified in 2016 but action was hindered due to "evidential difficulties".

TfL Rail

London Tramlink

BTP received 32 reports of sexual assault.

Six of the cases resulted in a charge being brought.

8

2014

12

2015

12

2016

How is British Transport Police tackling this?

Detective Chief Inspector Darren Malpas said: "When the 'Report it to stop it' campaign launched, we fully expected to record a rise in sexual offences and, though it is clearly a concern that so many people are affected by this type of crime, it is pleasing that previously reluctant victims of sexual offences now have the confidence to report this to us.

"Tackling all forms of unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport is a priority for British Transport Police and we have worked hard in recent years to send a clear message to victims that they will be taken seriously and we will investigate offences.

"We believe that unwanted sexual behaviour is something that largely goes unreported, which is why we worked with Transport for London, City of London Police and Metropolitan Police to launch the 'Report it to stop it' campaign.

"This is a national campaign encouraging women – and men – to report unwanted sexual behaviour they experience on public transport."

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But is it the tip of the iceberg?

A spokesman for Rape Crisis Surrey and Sussex told Get West London: "We welcome a rise in the number of reported sexual offences as we hope this demonstrates increased confidence among survivors in being believed and in being provided with the right kind of support to recover from their experience

"However, reported figures only scratch the surface of the scale of sexual offences as only 15% of those who experience sexual violence choose to report it.

"The true number of sexual offences perpetrated on public transport is therefore significantly higher than these figures suggest."

If you are a victim of an offence, use British Transport Police's text message service on 61016.

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